The Puberulum Group Sensu Lato (Whitish Truffles)

Tuber species in the Puberulum group sensu lato (s.l.) produce small and light-colored ascomata with alveolate-reticulated ascospores. Members of this group are commonly called “whitish truffles”. Puberulum group s.l. is the most widely distributed group, has the highest species richness within Tuber genus and includes commercially valuable species which are becoming increasingly popular in the marketplace. This chapter aimed to investigate the phylogenetic relationships and the diversity within Puberulum group s.l. based on the recent findings and the screening of the Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) rDNA sequences available in GenBank database. We attempted to select an ITS reference sequence and, consequently, to assess the current extent of misidentified entries for each whitish truffle species. Further, we reported the geographical distribution and intraspecific variability of each member of the Puberulum group s.l. as well as the description of mycorrhizas formed by this group of fungi.